


A Splash of the Sun

by hivecaptor



Category: Welcome to Night Vale
Genre: Carlos gets a promotion, Carlos is a Good husband, Cecil Palmer is a Mess, Cecil is a Good Husband, Fluff, Fluff no angst, M/M, Pure, The Moonlight All-Nite Diner, The University of What It Is, Wholesome, cecil is proud of carlos, this is so mind-numbingly sweet i'm so sorry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-26
Updated: 2020-05-26
Packaged: 2021-03-03 00:53:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,332
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24386203
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hivecaptor/pseuds/hivecaptor
Summary: Wherever they went, and whatever happened to them, in that little moment, in that little diner, in that little desert community where the sun was hot, the moon was beautiful, and where Carlos could never sleep, they would always love each other. That was one thing that would always stay the same.
Relationships: Carlos/Cecil Palmer
Comments: 4
Kudos: 35





	A Splash of the Sun

"I did it."

The words were a whisper in the dark of the living room as Carlos covered his mouth with a hand. He stared at his laptop, unmoving. An email from doctor Kayali filled the screen, words blurring across it as tears came to his eyes.

_Good morning, team._

_I am thrilled to announce the promotion of Carlos the Scientist to Head of Remote research at the University of what It Is. As of now, he resides in the friendly desert community that we all know of, but remain knowing nothing about. It is called Nightvale. We do not yet know what it wants from the world, nor do we have a way to explain what goes on there, but Carlos has come the closest of all to understanding what we thought could not be understood._

_He began his research with us nearly ten years ago, and the quality of it has not since degraded. he is hard-working, frightfully intelligent, and indispensable to the success of not only the science department, but the university as a whole. We could not have made half of the discoveries we have made in recent years without him in our corner. Carlos brings both experience and enthusiasm to all facets of his work, and we are immensely proud of the accomplishments he has made._

_Best regards,_

_Dr. Sylvia Kayali_

_Department Head, Science_

_The University of What It Is_

Carlos's eyes ached. he had no idea how long he had been staring at his computer screen, rereading those words over and over again, mentally playing them back in Doctor Kayali's accented drawl. Was it real? Was any of this real?

A week earlier, Carlos had contacted Doctor Kayali to notify her if his desire to remain in Nightvale. He had no idea for how long, but all that he knew and all that he told her was that he would be staying there for longer than expected. At the very worst, he had expected to be removed from his position. At the very best, well, he had expected the same in all honesty. But nothing like this.

The lamp in the corner blinked on, bathing the room in soft, golden light. Winter meant late sunrises, even in Nightvale when one could not be sure if the sun even existed on any given day. Still, the extra light was needed to see Cecil's face as he stumbled down the stairs and into the room, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. He was a gorgeous mess, flowy robe thrown on over obnoxiously colored pajama pants and what Carlos realized with a blush, was his own university tee shirt. His glasses had caught in his unkempt hair and he yawned, arms stretching up to expose a stripe of soft, tan stomach. "Good morning, love." When Carlos didn't answer, he looked at him and blinked. "Carlos?"

"I did it, Ceece," he said, still slightly disbelieving. 

"You what?"

Carlos only wiped at his eyes where tears had begun to form and pushed the laptop to the other side of the couch where Cecil could reach it. He grabbed it and sat down beside Carlos, the couch dipping slightly under his weight as he began to read. His pale eyes roved slowly over the screen, he had never been too fast of a reader. Finally, he finished.

"Carlos," he beamed. "Carlos, this is wonderful!" Cecil pushed the computer away and tackled his husband in a fierce hug, kissing every inch of his face that he could reach.

Carlos couldn't help but laugh then as he fell back against the arm of the couch, arms wrapped around Cecil's waist. "I can't believe I did it."

He drew back, a soft smile full of love lighting his face. "I can. You can do anything, my lovely Carlos." He pressed a feather-light kiss to his jaw. "I am so, so proud of you." 

He stood, grabbing Carlos's hand and pulling him to his feet before wrapping him in one more enthusiastic hug, lifting him slightly off of his feet.

"Woah!" Carlos exclaimed, clinging onto his husband for stability.

Cecil set him down and took his hand. "Come on, I want to go to breakfast. Please?" He cocked his head and smiled softly at Carlos.

"Alright, but only if you promise not to order French toast. They always put corn in it and I don't want to have to watch you eat it.

Cecil only laughed and kissed him again, lingering this time.

The Moonlight All-Nite diner posessed numerous large, glowing signs that illuminated the early morning. They were artificial-looking but still comfortable, familiar. Every time they ate there, Carlos always felt watched by the clock behind the counter, but that uncomfortable sensation had become one of many that citizens of the town learned to ignore. One was always being watched in Nightvale.

The diner served the sort of food that only sounded appealing if it was very late, if you were very drunk, or if you were wholly, incandescently happy. Cecil whispered into one of the ever-empty napkin holders and pulled Carlos toward a booth. The strong smell of rubber and bread filled his nostrils as his pajama pants squeaked against the seat, but it was as welcome of a scent as his husband's cologne. Nothing could dampen his mood after the triumph of the morning. 

As Carlos pulled his gaze away from the slowly lightening world outside, he noticed one of the waitresses bustling over to their table. It was less of a bustle and more of a cautious shuffle as the woman tried to avoid hitting any of her branches on the various furniture. Carlos had seen what happened when one of them broke and it certainly wasn't pretty, so he couldn't blame her one bit. _Nannerl_ , the name tag pinned to her blouse read. "What can I get for you, dears?"

Carlos scanned the menu. So many of the items, most of them in fact, had an 'invisible' option. He shrugged and ordered a stack of blueberry pancakes. His mother had always made them for him when there was cause to celebrate or even just on mornings when she was in a particularly good mood, so they seemed fitting especially then. He squeezed Cecil's hand to draw him away from the water glass he was distractedly assenting to. 

"Oh dear, I'm terribly sorry, Nannerl. Could I please have a slice of cherry pie?"

"Of course, sweetheart." She wrote down the order before smiling kindly and turning back in the direction of the kitchen.

Carlos leaned into Cecil's side. He was glad that he hadn't left Nightvale. There was nothing he loved more than this, this calm, silent sense of love and peace. Chaos surrounded them every day, there was hardly ever any quiet to be had. But still his husband was a haven for him, an island of gentleness that he could always come home to. Cecil would always be there, and Carlos was never more sure of that than when he wound an arm around his waist and pulled him closer.

Nobody stared when he leaned up for a kiss, and an old woman smiled from the corner at Cecil brushing the curls from his neck.

The mint-green neon lights flickered over their heads as a steaming cup of invisible coffee was served to a customer across the restaurant. Somewhere in the kitchen, there was a soft “Oh.” as one of the waitresses’ branches broke.

“You know I love you, right?” Cecil asked, running his fingers through the curls that Carlos hadn’t pulled back.

“Of course.”

Whatever happened to them, in that moment, in that little diner, in that friendly deser community where the sun was hot, the moon was beautiful, and where Carlos could never sleep, they would always love each other. That was one thing that would always last.

_ The zombies in the park, they're looking for my heart.  _

_ A dark world aches for a splash of the sun. _

**Author's Note:**

> Title and quote from 'Cough Syrup' by Young the Giant.
> 
> I just finished reading The Kingdom of Back by Marie Lu, and I fully intend to make content for it because there's none of it that I can find since it's such a new release, but there is no stopping the WTNV fics lol.
> 
> I apologize in advance if my posts slow in the next week because the finale to one of my favorite series is being released on the second of June, and I'm trying to read the five books that came before in about a week. 
> 
> I hope you enjoyed it and I look forward to posting more!


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